EUGENE, Ore. (KMTR) -– As students return for classes, Eugene Police were very busy with 43 arrests over the weekend for various behavior-related offenses.
"Our police response was consistent with the efforts we've put forth in the past and will continue with that same level throughout the year,” said says Lieutenant David Natt with the Eugene Police Department.
Eugene Police made 24 arrests between 9 PM and 3 AM on Friday night and Saturday morning, September 21 and 22. Officers made 19 arrests during the same timeframe on Saturday night and Sunday morning, September 22 and 23.
The majority of the citations and charges were for minors in possession of alcohol and open container.
Police say the response is an attempt to be proactive and to discourage people from creating mass gatherings. The last mass gathering in 2010 lead to a riot with about 400 people breaking car windows, ripping down street signs and causing more damage. Several people were also arrested on assault charges after numerous fights that night.
This time around, police say the response has been a lot more positive.
"The vast majority of the students that my officers interacted with last night were very receptive of the information that we provided them and very respectful of our response to them, whether we took enforcement action against them or not. A big piece of that pro-activity is that education piece, along with the enforcement, so they're paired hand-in-hand,” says Lt. Natt.
Here is complete list of the crimes cited over the weekend:
Citations and Charges
* 24 Open Container (6 UO students)
* 27 Minor in Possession (19 UO students)
* 9 Furnishing/Allowing Alcohol to Minors (6 UO students)
* 9 Prohibited Noise (5 UO students)
* 7 Possession of Less than an Ounce of Marijuana (6 UO students)
* 6 Trespass II (All UO students)
* 3 Interfering with Police (1 UO student)
* 2 False Info to Officer (Both UO students)
* 2 traffic citations (Both UO students)
* 11 other violations/crimes (4 UO students)
